Furniture-maker s clamp



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. L. JANOWSKI.

FURNITURE MAKERS CLAMP.

Patented Mar 15,1898.

NrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. JANOWSKI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FURNlTURE-MAKERS CLAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,617, dated March 15, 1898.

Application filed August 16, 1897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN L. JANOWSKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture-Makers Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in clamps to be used for securing pieces of furniture together during the manufacture thereof; and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The objects of my invention are, first, to furnish clamps for holding pieces of furniture in position while it is being manufactured,

, which clamps shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong, durable, and effective in operation, and, second, clamps of the above-named character, the parts of which may be readily adjusted so as to receive pieces of furniture of different sizes and be caused to press the said pieces firmly together.

Another object of my inventionis to so construct the clamps that the parts may be disengaged from the article of furniture in such a manner as to permit of the piece of furniture being removed from the clamps without difficulty.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front View of a pair of my clamps, showing a piece of furniture, such as a settee, being held thereby. Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the clamps with the piece of furniture removed. Fig. 4 is a front view of one of the clamps, showing its parts in position to allow of the easy removal or insertion of a piece of furniture. Fig. 5 is a front view of one of the clamps, showing its parts adjusted to clamp a horizontal piece; and Fig. 6 is a detached side view of one of the adjustable supporting-rails, showing it broken for the convenience of illustration.

In the employment of my clamps it is usu- Serial No. 648,392. momma.)

ally necessary to use a pair of them to properly hold and support the piece of furniture while it is being secured together, but inasmuch as they are counterparts of one another, except that they are made rights and lefts, I will refer to one clamp only and explain its construction.

A represents the supporting-legs, which are secured together near their lower ends by means of a suitable brace a and near their upper ends by means of a supporting-rail A, which is adj ustably attached to the legs A, as will be presently explained. Pivotally secured on the front and rear surfaces of the legsA are standards B, each of which has its lower end provided with an enlargement or weight b and its upper portion with eyelets b to receive the lugs 27 and b on the grooved beam 0, which carries the clamping members or standards proper.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the eyelets b on each of the standards B are forked to receive the lugs 11 and 6 which are also formed with eyes or openings to receive the bolts b, which secure them in position, as shown inFigs. 1 to 4:, inclusive. As shown, the beam 0 is formed on one of its surfaces with a longitudinal groove 0, in which fits the extension-rail L, against which the clamping members or uprights D and D rest, the former of which may be secured at the desired point on the beam 0 and rail by means of a suitable bolt 01, which is passed through openings-d, formed in the beamand rail for the reception of said bolt and for the reception of the bolts d which are employed to secure the brace-block D on the beam and against the member or upright D, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Theupper and lower portions of the clamping member or upright D are provided with a set-screw 01 which engages adjustable blocks d employed to properly support or brace the piece of furniture when the same is of a shape other than straight. Secured in screw-threaded sockets e, which are attached to one end of the beam G, is a screw e, having at its free end a handle 6 and at its other end a head or enlargement e to rest against the upright or clamping member E, which is provided at about its middle and on its surface adjacent to the beam 0 with a lug 6 which fits intoa recess fin the adjustable plate F and is there secured by means of a bolt f, which passes through suitable openings in said lug and plate.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, the plate F is provided with a slot f through which is passed a set-screw f which extends through the slot 0' in the beam 0, which construction permits the plate to be adjusted either longitudinally or transversely on the beam. The upper portion of the standard or clamping member E is provided with a removable arm g, through which is passed a screw g, the lower end of which may contact with a block g which is adjustably secured on the upright by means of a set-screw 9 extending through said block and a slot 9 in the upright. The lower portion of the upright is provided with a block or projection g upon which the lower portion of the piece of furniture H, such as a settee or chair, may rest. The legs or supports A have near their upper ends brackets a ,'to.the sides of which is secured by means of set-screws a the adj ustable supporting-rail A, which is formed at its ends with arms a at right angles to the rail proper, each of which is provided with a slot a for the reception of the set-screws a and to allow said rail to be raised and lowered when desired.

In Fig. 5 of the drawingsI have shown the beam 0 adjusted so as to accommodate a piece of furniture I, which may rest horizontally on said beam, and in so adjusting the beam the lug b is secured in the eyelets 1) instead of the lug 6 as is the case in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

When adjusted as shown in Fig. 5, the groove 0 in the beam 0 will be on its upper surface, as shown, and the screw e. will likewise be above or on the upper surface of said beam, thus allowing the piece of furniture to be clamped against the member D, which may be secured in the groove, as before stated.

The operation of my clamps is simple and as follows: A pair of the clamps are placed side by side, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and the clamping members D,which may or may not have the removable blocks 06, are fixed at suitable points within the groove of the beams O and there secured by means of the bolts 01, and may be braced by means of the blocks D',which are secured on the beams by means of the bolts d as before stated. The uprights or clamping members E are then adjusted to about the proper position on the beams O, and a piece of furniture H such as a chair, settee, or other articleis inserted between the members D and E, and when necessary, on account of the irregular shape of the parts of the piece of furniture, the blocks dton the member D and g and g on the member E may be employed to properly support the article of furniture, and when in such a position the parts of the piece of furniture may be firmly pressed and held together by turning the screws 9 and g, the former pressing the sides of the piece of furniture together and the latter forcing downwardly the arms or upper part of the piece of furniture. When it is desired toremove the article of furniture from the clamps,thescrews e and g may be loosened and the standards B turned on their pivots, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, which operation will disengage the uprights or clamping members D and E from the furniture, as is apparent, and permit it to be easily removed. The extension-rail L may be extended in the groove 0 of the beam G to any desired limit and the clamping member D and the brace-block D bolted thereto instead of to said rail and the beam, and will be found especially useful in clamping large pieces of furniture, such as bed-frames, or when the article of furniture is in a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. To prevent them turning too far, the pivoted standards B have on their lower ends arms m to strike against the upward projections 11 on the bases 0?. of the legs or supports.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a support, of a standard pivotally secured at each end thereof, a beam located on the upper ends of the standards, the clamping member D, secured on said beam, another clamping member adjustably secured on the beam, and a screw located on said beam and adapted to force the last-named clamping member toward the other one, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a support, of a standard pivotally secured at each end thereof, a beam interchangeably secured on the upper ends of the standards, a clamping member fixedly secured on said beam, another clamping member adjustably secured on the beam, and a screw located on said beam and adapted to force the last-named clamping member toward the other one, substantially IIO 

